Friday, June 27, 2008

I've been traveling a lot lately on business, to Abilene, Texas, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. All I can say about Abilene is you must eat at Harold's Barbecue, Sharon's Barbecue, and visit Abilene Christian University. ACU has a marvelous sculpture done by Professor John Maxwell called Jacob's Dream. The thing is a true work of art. It is a combination of limestone and metal, and shows angels ascending and descending on a floating ladder that goes straight up toward heaven. You can watch a touching video about the project at acu.edu...do some digging, you'll find it. ACU is a great school, great people, a lot of good things happening there.

Now on to North Central University in Minneapolis...another fantastic college with some sharp people. Had a wonderful visit. Right in the heart of Minneapolis. And man, once winter is over, these people come out! People walking and biking all over the city. Sidewalk cafes. Music in the open air plazas. The city was green, clean and breezy. Just a great town. I highly recommend Britt's for fish n chips and the coffee chip ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's kiosk at Peavey Plaza.

I packed up my iPod with tunes for the trips and man, I've fallen in love with Sugarland. Each song is a story. And the vocals of Jennifer Nettles (sp?) are emotionally charged. I have both their CDs and will be first in line when the new one comes out next month. I'm waiting for them to come to Atlanta so I can see them in concert. Jennifer/Christian, if you're reading this, I'd love to send you my novels. Email me and we'll get them off to you!

Orlando and NYC are next on the travel itinerary. Until next time, peace.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Hey, I wanted to let you know about a new book releasing by my friend Marlo Schalesky. It's called Beyond the Night and it's put out by my publisher, WaterBrook Multnomah, a division of Random House. Here's some promo info about it (sounds intriguing to me, but I haven't read it yet!):

They say love is blind.This time they’re right…

As a woman lies unconscious in a hospital bed, her husband waits beside her, urging her to wake up and come home. Between them lies an ocean of fear and the tenuous grip of memories long past. Memories of wonder. Of love. Memories of a girl named Madison and a boy named Paul…

Madison Foster knew she was going blind. But she didn’t want pity—not from her mother, not from her roommate, and especially not from her best friend Paul—the man she secretly loved.

Paul Tilden knew a good thing when he saw it. And a good thing was his friendship with Maddie Foster. That is, until he started to fall in love.

With the music of the seventies as their soundtrack and its groovy fashions as their scenery, Maddie and Paul were drawn together and driven apart. Then one night changed everything…forever.

And only now, when life tiptoes past the edge of yesterday, along the rim of today, can they glimpse the beauty that awaits them…beyond the night.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Hey all...I wanted to let you know about the fifth book in the Dragon Keeper Chronicles, concluding the drama by my friend Donita K. Paul that has been building since DragonSpell was released in 2004. Donita has a knack for weaving eternal truths into a page-turning story and still takes time to tickle her reader with humorous characters and situations.

Here's a bit about the new novel: As Kale and her father are busy hatching, bonding, and releasing the younger generation of dragons as helpers throughout the kingdom, the light wizard has little time to develop her skills. Her husband, Sir Bardon-despite physical limitations resulting from his bout with stakes disease-has become a leader, serving on the governing board under Paladin. When Kale and Bardon set aside their daily responsibilities to join meech dragons Regidor and Gilda on a quest to find a hidden meech colony, they encounter sinister forces. Their world is under attack by a secret enemy. Can they overcome the ominous peril they can't even see?

Monday, June 2, 2008

I don't know how she does it, but my friend Robin Lee Hatcher has another novel out, and this one sounds like one you'll love. It's called Wagered Heart. About the book, Romantic Times Book Reviews says: "Hatcher knows how to pack romance, laughter, tears and lovable characters into her stories."

Here's a synopsis: When Bethany Silverton left the genteel life of Miss Henderson’s School for Young Ladies back in Philadelphia for the raw frontier town of Sweetwater, Montana, she had no idea how much she would enjoy the freedom and danger of this wild country.

A conservative preacher’s daughter, Bethany can’t resist the challenge of charming the most attractive cowboy in town into attending her father’s new church. She never dreamed that the cowboy would charm the lady.

But Hawk Chandler isn't the only man vying for Bethany's affections. Ruthlessly ambitious Vince Richards thinks Bethany is perfect for him: attractive, gracious, just the woman to help him become governor. And he is determined to get what he wants at any cost.

Drawn to one man, an obsession of another, Bethany's quiet life is thrown into turmoil. She wagered her heart on love. Now she has gotten more than she bargained for—and the stakes are about to become life and death.